August 02, 2007

I don't know Jeri Kehn Thompson (shown left with her husband), but she used to be in my Rolodex when I was a new reporter in Washington, D.C. She was young professional, a contact on the Hill, a senate aide and an RNC spokesperson. Now, as the 40-year-old wife of likely presidential candidate Fred Thompson, 64, she has been labeled a "trophy wife."

In today's Washington Post, Robert Novak pens a piece with the headline, "Thompson's Top Advisor." Meanwhile, blogs, chat rooms and a story in The New York Times by Susan Saulny, "Will Her Face Determine His Fortune", focus on her looks: "youthfulness, permanent tan and bleached blond hair ... much of the brouhaha around Mrs. Thompson, 40, is being stirred by photos of her in form-fitting gowns circulating on the Internet."